TURKEY. ATÜ Duty Free, the partnership between TAV Airports and Unifree Duty Free/Gebr Heinemann, has started to reopen stores at Turkish airports.
The retailer, which had suspended its operations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, first restarted operations in the domestic terminal at Milas-Bodrum Airport last week. Also now open are the Hermès, Bvlgari and Montblanc boutiques at Istanbul Airport.
In July, the Luxury Timepieces and Luxury Square areas at Istanbul Airport will reopen, as well as Celine, Fendi, Furla, Longchamp, Loro Piana, Michael Kors, Paul & Shark, and Salvatore Ferragamo stores at the main gateway for the Turkish capital.
ATÜ Duty Free added is also gearing up to open the Old Bazaar concept store at Istanbul Airport, and the duty free outlets at Ankara Esenboğa, Izmir Adnan Menderes, Milas-Bodrum and Gazipaşa-Alanya airports.
Outside Turkey, the retailer reopened stores at Riga and Tunis-Carthage airports at the beginning of June, as well as those in the domestic terminal at Medina Airport. In North Macedonia, it has reopened shops in Skopje and Ohrid airports. ATÜ Duty Free will announce the reopening of further stores in the coming days.
The retailer has put detailed health and safety measures in place to ensure the safety of staff and shoppers in the reopened stores.
Disinfection units have been placed throughout the stores, and frequently-contacted areas, such as tills, perfume testers and shopping baskets, are regularly sanitised. Plexiglass has been put in place at the tills and all employees use masks, gloves and face shields.
ATÜ Duty Free CEO Ersan Arcan said: “We are excited to meet our passengers once again in our stores. We have experienced a very challenging period over the last few months, which affected all stakeholders in the sector.
“Now we are all set, having completed preparation for the ‘new normal’. We adapted our stores to the new health and safety conditions, thanks to the dedicated work of all our employees. All the measures taken are the result of recent developments we have observed throughout our country and the world.
“As we celebrate our 20th anniversary this year as a leading and experienced organisation in the duty free sector, we look forward to being with our passengers at our stores during healthy times.”
